Pages

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Shepherds College is a very different
place in the summer months. The hallways are dark, the classrooms are silent, and
the heady aromas of warm, yeasty breads, melting chocolate, and braising meats
from the Culinary Arts Kitchen have disappeared from the air. The dorm walls are stripped of posters, the
instructors leave on well-deserved vacations, and the Horticulture classroom
looks strangely colorless without all the fresh blooms the students arrange
into centerpieces.

Within the tangible emptiness,
something living lingers – drifting, hovering, and teasing from every classroom
and hallway - the memories of the students who have made their way into the
lives and hearts of the faculty and staff of Shepherds College.

Last week, we said goodbye to the
Class of 2014. We said goodbye to Miranda’s power-packed greetings, Daniela’s hugs,
and Dallas’s unexpected sense of humor. We will miss Joe’s intensity and
Bethany’s earnest desire to serve others. The graduates have left behind the
ghosts of their unique personalities to remind us that every life impacts
another. Shepherds College may have made a mark on their lives, but each of the
graduates made an impression on our lives as well.

Before
school ended, I asked the first and second year students to tell me about their
favorite memories involving the graduating Class of 2014, the memories that
will still be hanging on long after the graduates have found apartments,
meaningful jobs and have settled into their independent lives. This is what they
shared:

Christi

“I would have Christi over for lunch
or dinner, play Bowling with her on Wii, and make her laugh. I loved hearing
her boisterous laugh.” ~ Sarah

“One of my favorite memories with
Christi is having pizza in her apartment and watching Mrs. Doubtfire.” ~ Suzanne

“My favorite memories are when we
went with them on the Amazing Race Retreat and field trips.” ~ Ellie

Donovan

“We laughed, had fun and we had good
times playing Halo 2 on the PS2.” ~ Ryan

“My favorite memory of the third-year
students is going to the park with them and playing football and water tubing.” ~ Anthony

“My favorite memory is of all the
activities we had the opportunity to do with the upper classmen such as going
to exciting events with them. Also having ROTC with them in the gym.” ~ Wade

Miranda

“When Miranda and I got to watch a
movie, she picked out ‘Are We There Yet?’ Miranda and I were laughing while
watching the movie together.” ~ Crystal

“I had fun bowling with them.” ~ Andrew

“Being in Mr. Gaschke’s class with
them.” ~ Nick

Brian

“When Brian came down every Wednesday
to help us make breakfast in the Commons. Halo tournaments on Wednesdays when
other people went to SNAP Fitness. When Dallas spun the giant wheel at Action
Territory and won 1,000 tickets.” ~ Jonathan

“When they would all come to the café.” ~ Matt

“My favorite memory of this
graduating class is Brian because I love him when he does his funny talk and
makes me laugh all the time that I know of in my life. Every time I meet Brian,
he makes me laugh all the time.” ~ David

Daniela

“Flying on the same plane as Daniela.” ~ Joey

“I went to Daniela’s apartment and
had dinner together. It was fun. We watched TV after dinner, and we had a
blast. We also chased a bug around the apartment. I thought it was funny.” ~ Cherokee

“Just getting to know them all and
being able to sing with them.” ~ Ashley

Katy

“My favorite memory was when Katy
made me laugh so hard, I almost died! HAHA!!” ~ Willetta

“My favorite memory is making Katy
laugh by telling her jokes.” ~ Kirsten

“I will miss singing musicals with
Katy.” ~ Krista

Sean

“My favorite memory of a third-year
of 2014 is getting to know Sean and getting to know what each year at Shepherds
College holds.” ~
Olya

“We had fun times hanging out
together. It was nice getting to know them a little more.” ~ Julian

“The third-year students worked very
hard, and they were fun to have in class.” ~ Grant

Nicole

“Some of my favorite memories of this
year’s graduates are of the times we all got together to have a girls’ fun
movie or board game night. Every one of them was fun to hang out with. Their
personalities were positive as well as funny at times, and other times they
were sad and serious.” ~ Kathryn

“My favorite memory of the students
in the 2014 graduating class is being able to get to know them. Being able to
do things with them like grocery shopping and just having fun together.” ~ Nikki

Joe

“Seeing Joe and talking to him and
all the graduating students in AiA Café.” ~ Nathan

“When all the guys sung around the
campfire knowing that we would probably never be like that with the third-year
students ever again.”
~ Tommy

Dallas

“Seeing the Casting Crowns concert
with some of the students and getting three souvenirs.” ~ Philip

“My favorite memory of the graduating
class is them helping us learn about the majors that we are in.” ~ Torrey

“My favorite memories are of going to
paintball and basketball, plus going to the beach at Michigan. Going to
Chick-fil-A and hockey games with them are all of my other favorite times as
well as the movies.”
~ Micah

Bethany

“As a first-year student at Shepherds
College, I’ve gotten to know most of the third-year students. Some of us got to
know one another, and we hung out during school activities. Some of us didn’t
get along at first, and at times we didn’t see eye to eye. At the end of the
school year, I can see how my friendships with the third-year students have
grown. I will remember who I have met and how we are all the same. We each have
a disability, but it’s different. We all have different ways of learning. I
know that God will find each one their purpose. They will grow through the
years to come.” ~
Isaac

Class of 2014, You will always be remembered.
Love,
Your friends at Shepherds College

Thursday, June 5, 2014

I can still remember the day when I first came to Shepherds.
If I were to go through all of the moments that were great at Shepherds, it
would take some time. Instead, I’ll go through my all-time favorites. But first,
I want to say it was very hard when I came here. I took steps I shouldn’t
have and that took me to almost getting expelled out of Shepherds. It took a
bit to earn the trust of my advisor and other staff. I’m still learning here
and earning trust every day. All of the rough times I had in 2013 sometimes have me
thinking of how close I could’ve been to being asked to leave here. I wouldn’t have had the
honor of learning and being taught by some amazing people.

My all-time favorite moment was when we went to paintball. A
friend of mine and I were on the same side, and we fired upon seeing one another.
He thought I was the enemy, but I wasn’t … To make sure he would remember, I
shot him up a bit (but just a bit).

There are quite a few memories here I enjoyed, such as going
to Action Territory and driving the go-carts and hanging with my friends. But
honestly, 2013 was a bit tough and
good. I enjoyed playing basketball with
the champions of the Soarin’ Eagles and Falcons which were great teams. My
all-time favorite moment was at the Bucks stadium playing on the court at half-time
and winning. I truly crossed that dream off my bucket list.

As 2014 arrived, I didn’t see greatness coming, and I knew
problems would come. We all can see
problems in life, yet we can’t tell when the greatness will come. For me, it
was being taught and instructed by an amazing editor who gives me great
structure in writing. Her name is Susan Griffis, and she has been a great tutor
in my life. She is my all-time favorite staff here.

Another, Mr. Andrus who teaches Computer Skills, is my
all-time favorite teacher, not for
the love of technology or because he works with computers, but because of the
way he teaches and how he gives you his undivided attention. Plus, his kids are
amazing and such great company.

As graduation and summer break comes, I wonder how the
graduates feel, and I wish I could be them. Yet, I have two years to go. I’ve
always been about being fast, but I know it’ll take some time, and I have to
enjoy it and learn as I go. But for the graduates, I pray they will prosper and
learn from Shepherds College, and that they will never forget that God gave
them a chance in life to go forth and to change the world. I thank God I have met
them.

As the days go down, and we are all counting down, I know
one thing. We all will miss each other. We all can say, “I miss you,” but when we’re
at our separate houses and something weird happens, we’ll be, “I wish my
friends were here.” So don’t be saying, “No,
I won’t miss you.” It’s all a lie. I’ll miss you. But I won’t miss being out of
Wisconsin for two months, that’s for sure. In all, as I end here and look
forward to seeing my family and all my friends whom I haven’t seen for some
time, all I can say to the staff and teachers here is, “Thank you, sincerely,
for a year of greatness.”

And to the ones who’ll be heading out of here for good, “May
you truly make the right choices in life and may you prosper.We will miss you and will pray for you.